The present invention relates to fibrous and foam insulation sheets, such as but not limited to fibrous insulation batts or blankets for insulating wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities and, in particular, to fibrous and foam insulation sheets which have lateral edges contoured to function, in combination with the flexibility, compressibility and resilience of the insulation sheets to increase the effective widths of the insulation sheets. When the insulation sheets are placed in a cavity, the increased effective widths of the insulation sheets increases the forces exerted on the lateral edges of the insulation sheets by the opposed surfaces of the framing members defining the cavity to better retain the insulation sheets within the cavity.
Fibrous insulation sheets, batts or blankets, such as but not limited to glass fiber insulation batts or blankets, foam insulation sheets or similar insulation batts, blankets or sheets which are flexible, compressible and resilient, are commonly used as an insulation to insulate wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. The lengths, widths, and depths of these building cavities are standardized throughout the building industry and are defined by the framing members used in the walls, floors, ceilings and roofs of the buildings. For example, the vertical framing members in the walls of residential building construction are normally standard 2xc3x974 or 2xc3x976 wooden studs which are located on 16 inch or 24 inch centers and form wall cavities having widths of about 14xc2xd and 22xc2xd inches. The commercially available fibrous insulation batts or blankets used to insulate these wall cavities are both compressible and resilient and are made to standard nominal widths of 15 inches and 23 inches, respectively. The compressibility of the fibrous insulation batts or blankets, which are greater in width than the cavities being insulated, enables the batts or blankets to be placed within the cavities and the resilience of the batts or blankets which exert forces against the surfaces of framing members helps to maintain the insulation batts or blankets in place within the cavities prior to enclosing the cavities with boards, wall boards or similar construction materials.
While this method of maintaining the insulation sheets, batts or blankets in place within the cavities prior to putting up the wall board or similar construction materials generally works satisfactorily, sometimes the forces exerted on a sheet, batt or blanket by the framing members to maintain the insulation sheet, batt or blanket in place is insufficient to maintain the insulation sheet, batt or blanket in place. Thus, there has remained a need to better retain the insulation sheets, batts or blankets within the cavities prior to putting up the wall board or similar construction materials to enclose the cavity.
The fibrous or foam insulation sheet, batt or blanket and method of the present invention provide a means for better retaining a flexible, compressible and resilient insulation sheet, batt or blanket within a wall, floor, ceiling or roofing cavity by contouring the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket to increase the effective width of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket without increasing the amount of insulation used in the sheet, batt or blanket. More specifically, the insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the present invention has contoured lateral edges which are: a) serpentine, b) inclined at an angle other than perpendicular to the major surfaces of the sheet, batt or blanket, or c) a combination of serpentine and inclined at an angle other than perpendicular to the major surfaces of the sheet, batt or blanket, along the lengths of the lateral edges of the sheet, batt or blanket. These contoured lateral edges increase the effective width of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket relative to a conventional insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the same length, width, thickness and density with straight lateral edges extending perpendicular between major surfaces of the conventional insulation sheet without increasing the amount of insulation material used in the insulation sheet, batt or blanket.
As used in this specification and claims in connection with insulation sheets, batts and blankets, the term xe2x80x9cwidthxe2x80x9d means the perpendicular distance (as measured along a straight line in a plane parallel to the major surfaces of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket) between the lateral edges of an insulation sheet, batt or blanket for any and all planes, passing through the insulation sheet, batt or blanket, that are parallel to the major surfaces of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket.
As used in this specification and claims in connection with insulation sheets, batts and blankets, the term xe2x80x9ceffective widthxe2x80x9d means the perpendicular distance (as measured along a straight line in a plane parallel to the major surfaces of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket) between two parallel or substantially parallel planes extending perpendicular to the major surfaces of the insulation sheets, batts or blankets which planes meet or are tangential to the lateral edges of the insulation sheets, batts or blankets along the lengths of the lateral edges at the farthest lateral projections of the lateral edges.
In the embodiment of the present invention where the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket have generally serpentine contours throughout the lengths of the lateral edges and the lateral edges extend generally parallel with respect to each other throughout the lengths of the lateral edges, a transverse vertical cross section through the insulation sheet, batt or blanket may be shaped generally like a rectangle or a parallelogram with no included right angles. In the embodiment of the present invention where the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket are inclined at an angle other than perpendicular to the major surfaces of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket throughout the lengths of the lateral edges, a transverse vertical cross section through the insulation sheet, batt or blanket is shaped generally like a parallelogram having no included right angles. In another embodiment of the present invention, the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket are substantially straight at one major surface of the sheet, serpentine at the other major surface of the sheet, and the angles of the lateral edges relative to the major surfaces of the sheet periodically vary along the length of the lateral edges from inclined at a negative angle to the perpendicular (the perpendicular between the major surfaces), to perpendicular, to inclined at a positive angle to the perpendicular, to perpendicular, to inclined at a negative angle to the perpendicular.
With the contours of the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the present invention there is no or substantially no increase in the amount of insulation material forming the insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the present invention relative to the insulation material used in a conventional insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the same length, width, thickness and density with straight lateral edges extending perpendicular between major surfaces of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket. However, with the increase in the effective width of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket of the present invention, when the insulation sheet, batt or blanket is placed in a cavity the forces exerted on the lateral edges of the insulation sheet, batt or blanket by the opposed surfaces of the framing members are increased to better retain the insulation sheet, batt or blanket within the cavity.
In a first embodiment of the method of forming the contoured edges on the insulation sheets, batts or blankets of the present invention, the contoured edges are formed by cutting an insulation sheet with a series of spaced apart cutting blades that are reciprocally oscillated with respect to the insulation sheet in a direction transverse to a longitudinal centerline of the insulation sheet as the insulation sheet is fed past the cutting blades. The reciprocal oscillation of the blades, as the insulation sheet is fed past the blades, forms a plurality of sheets, batts or blankets with serpentine lateral edges that extend generally parallel with respect to each other.
In a second embodiment of the method of forming the contoured edges on the insulation sheets, batts or blankets of the present invention, the contoured edges are formed by cutting an insulation sheet with a series of stationary, spaced apart cutting blades that are positioned across the width of the insulation sheet. The cutting blades are inclined at an angle other than perpendicular to the major surfaces of the insulation sheet and as the insulation sheet is fed past the cutting blades, a plurality of sheets, batts or blankets are formed with lateral edges inclined at angles other than perpendicular to the major surfaces of the insulation sheets throughout the lengths of the lateral edges. The insulation sheets, batts or blankets formed have a transverse vertical cross section that is shaped generally like a parallelogram having no included right angles.
In a third embodiment of the method of forming the contoured edges on the insulation sheets, batts or blankets of the present invention, the contoured edges are formed by cutting an insulation sheet with a series of stationary, spaced apart cutting blades that are positioned across the width of the insulation sheet. While the spaced apart cutting blades are maintained in fixed positions relative to the insulation sheet in a direction transverse to a longitudinal centerline of the insulation sheet as the insulation sheet is fed through the cutting station, the cutting blades of the cutting means, which are maintained parallel with respect to each other, are moved synchronously back and forth between a negative angle to the perpendicular between the major surfaces of the insulation sheet and a positive angle to the perpendicular between the major surfaces of the insulation sheet. This method of cutting the insulation sheet forms a plurality of insulation sheets with lateral contoured edges that extend generally parallel with respect to each other. The lateral edges are substantially straight at a first major surface throughout the lengths of the lateral contoured edges and are generally serpentine at a second major surface throughout the lengths of the lateral contoured edges.